ELY, Minn. -- A Minnesota researcher has surprised his followers and officials alike by removing radio collars from his research bears in the Ely area.

Lynn Rogers told KARE-TV that it was a difficult decision. He blames the state Department of Natural Resources for forcing them into a corner. He said the DNR gutted their program by restricting the number of radio collars and the kind of data they could collect "to the point that it was hardly scientifically viable."

Rogers said his collared bears also became targets for hunters. He said removing collars now allows fur to grow back on their necks before hunting season.

DNR spokesman Chris Niskanen said Rogers' move is a mystery. He said Rogers is allowed to leave the collars on pending a final decision on his permit.

In late May, a state judge sided with the DNR's decision not to renew Rogers' long-standing research permit to attach radio collars to wild bears and place video cameras in their dens. The agency argued that Rogers' practice of hand-feeding bears constituted a public risk by habituating them to people.

A DNR-designated employee with no ties to the matter is to make a final permit determination, likely near the end of the summer, after taking into account arguments from both sides, as well as the findings of the judge.

Rogers had said that if things continued to go against him, he would appeal in court, he said in a Pioneer Press interview.